Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men

Author: Jay

424 – Times Change

5 comments

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | RSS

In which everything is Havok’s fault; Jay is a bad influence; Polaris makes some valid points; Jamie Madrox is the Bobby Drake of X-Factor; and X-Factor vol. 1 ends with a bang.

X-PLAINED:

  • Muppet rules
  • X-Factor, vol. 1, in general
  • X-Factor #146-149
  • Sense of place
  • Jude Black and his inexplicable facial hair
  • Boundaries
  • Edible Arrangements
  • A different kind of sports bar
  • Kevin
  • Nostalgia, I guess?
  • Several confrontations
  • Temporal insanity
  • A very specialized course
  • What happens next
  • The universe where Dazzler replaced Jean Grey in the original X-Factor
  • Characters we would like to have seen more of

NEXT EPISODE: Psi-War!

Special thanks to muppets Michal Richardson, Bilal Dardai, and Matt Hunter!

(You can find an mp3 of just the muppet opening in the visual companion.)

Check out the visual companion to this episode on our blog!

Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!

Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men is 100% ad-free and listener supported. If you want to help support the podcast–and unlock more cool stuff–you can do that right here!

Buy rad swag at our TeePublic shop!

As Mentioned in Episode 423 – Moby Dick Ice Cream

Leave a comment

Listen to the podcast here.

Probably not even the fanciest trash can on Muir Island. (Excalibur #121)
She’s fun. (Excalibur #121)
It’s no SMEK, but it’ll do.
What’s doubly interesting about this is that David’s personality isn’t actually there. (Excalibur #121)
And off they go. (Excalibur #121)
Hmm. (Excalibur #122)
That’s a lot of hair. (Excalibur #122)
Spoiler: Not actually the X-Men. (Excalibur #122)
The Mimic and his beard. (Excalibur #122)
The sound of love. (Excalibur #122)
Aw, those wacky kids. (Excalibur #123)
The now-beardless Mimic. (Excalibur #123)
NEXT EPISODE: X-Factor explodes.

423 – Moby Dick Ice Cream

6 comments

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | RSS

In which subtlety is not Sabra’s strong point; Moira takes a vacation; Meggan broods; you should take care in referencing the Dark Phoenix Saga; Excalibur may or may not shave Mimic; and Captain Britain is a silly man.

X-PLAINED:

  • Ghosts
  • Excalibur #121-123
  • The Mutant Underground
  • Empathic recon
  • An extremely disgruntled kiss
  • Kitty’s new costume
  • Several of Legion’s personalities
  • A mysterious disk
  • A very fancy trash can and/or ice cream maker
  • Ice cream of Cloud City
  • A good dog
  • Remains of Operation Zero Tolerance
  • The devolution of Douglock
  • Mimic (Calvin Rankin)
  • Mimic’s facial hair
  • Some Prime Sentinels
  • Wedding planning
  • Liking parts of things
  • Villains who want to marry Storm
  • Maddy Pryor

NEXT EPISODE: The end of X-Factor!

Check out the visual companion to this episode on our blog!

Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!

Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men is 100% ad-free and listener supported. If you want to help support the podcast–and unlock more cool stuff–you can do that right here!

Buy rad swag at our TeePublic shop!

As Mentioned in Episode 422 – Cairn Touch This

Leave a comment

Listen to the episode here.

If your sick room isn’t a fire hazard, you’re doing it wrong. (X-Men #74)
Well, that’s not good. (X-Men #74)
He’s got a million of ’em. (X-Men #74)
Seriously, Hank, what the hell? (X-Men #75)
I LOVE THESE GUYS THEY ARE SO WEIRD (X-Men #75)
Wolverine has been up to some… stuff. (X-Men #75)
We’re not in Westchester anymore. (X-Men #75)
Hi, Pilgrimm! (X-Men #75)
Hi, Magneto! (X-Men #76)
Hi, Eany and Meany! (X-Men #76)
It is rough to be Maggott. (X-Men #76)
NEXT EPISODE: Excalibur isn’t over (quite) yet!

422 – Cairn Touch This

3 comments

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | RSS

In which the X-Men’s membership is a complicated subject; not all angels know each other; we need to talk about Beast’s Wasp costume; Cecilia Reyes speaks for all reasonable folk; Storm gets a mysterious package; and reading comics day-and-date may not be for everyone.

X-PLAINED:

  • The variable loyalties of the N’garai
  • X-Men #74-76
  • A somewhat atypical team lineup
  • A whole lotta backstory
  • How to join the X-Men
  • Warren Kenneth Worthington III as a religious figure
  • Flechette clean-up
  • Teenage drama
  • Detective Jim Logan
  • A lot of murder
  • The N’garai
  • Beast’s Wasp costume
  • Explanatory captions for real life
  • The Ru’tai
  • Pilgrimm
  • Mai’Keth the Undying One
  • The Eye of Kierokk
  • Maggott’s secret origins
  • X-Men cartoons for a 7-year-old
  • Reckoning with loss in comics

NEXT EPISODE: Excalibur rushes toward its conclusion

Check out the visual companion to this episode on our blog!

Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!

Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men is 100% ad-free and listener supported. If you want to help support the podcast–and unlock more cool stuff–you can do that right here!

Buy rad swag at our TeePublic shop!

 

As Mentioned in Episode 421 – Dudleyworld or Bust

Leave a comment

Listen to the podcast here.

Fast times at Dudleyworld! (Colossus #1)
Aw, these wacky kids.(Colossus #1)
Note: This is supposed to be taking place during the day. (Colossus #1)
EliSabeth, you mean! (Colossus #1)
The Proletarian! (Colossus #1)
BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T TELL HER WHAT WAS GOING ON. (Colossus #1)
On the scale of bad disguises, I’ve seen worse. (Colossus #1)
He’s smooth, I’ll give him that. (X-Men Unlimited #19)
“What the HELL, Mom?!” (X-Men Unlimited #19)
See what I mean about her head? (X-Men Unlimited #19)
My kingdom for follow-through on this tease. (X-Men Unlimited #19)
NEXT EPISODE: The secret origin of Maggott!

421 – Dudleyworld or Bust

3 comments

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | RSS

In which one letter can make a big difference; it’s just not Arcade without giant pinballs; Colossus is nobody’s fool; Margali Szardos is not a relative you want to stay in touch with; Nightcrawler turns to the jerk side; and Jay and Miles pitch an X-Men kids’ show.

X-PLAINED:

  • Elisabeth Wilford vs. Elizabeth Wilford
  • Colossus #1
  • X-Men Unlimited #19
  • How to name a miniseries or one-shot
  • The destructive potential of happiness
  • A clock
  • An inaccurate duplicate of Avalon
  • The return of the Proletarian
  • Costumes with characters’ faces on them
  • Death by irony
  • A journey to Limbo
  • Several blasts from the past
  • Margali Szardos’s head
  • Foreshadowing that we desperately wish had panned out
  • Cold open curation
  • A hypothetical X-Men show for five-year-olds

NEXT EPISODE: The secret origin of Maggott

Check out the visual companion to this episode on our blog!

Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!

Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men is 100% ad-free and listener supported. If you want to help support the podcast–and unlock more cool stuff–you can do that right here!

Buy rad swag at our TeePublic shop!

420 – The Legendary House of Wolverine, feat. Christopher Michael Roman

4 comments

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | RSS

In which Jay sits down with scholar Christopher Michael Roman to discuss his recent book, Queering Wolverine in Comics and Fanfiction: A Fastball Special; alongside queer theory, porous bodies, and nontraditional mentorship.

CONTENT NOTE: This episode includes graphic discussions of physical trauma as well as consensual if weird fictional sex.

NEXT EPISODE: Colossus and Meggan finally go to Dudleyworld, sort of!

No visual companion this week, but if you want to pick up Chris’s book, you can do that here!

Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!

Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men is 100% ad-free and listener supported. If you want to help support the podcast–and unlock more cool stuff–you can do that right here!

Buy rad swag at our TeePublic shop!

As Mentioned in Episode 418 – Reignfirefighters

Leave a comment

Listen to the podcast here.

Those youth and their hijinks! (X-Force #77)
This is the branch of S.H.I.E.L.D. that shows up to assure you that all you saw was a weather balloon. (X-Force #77)
I’m never gonna be able to see a superhero conversation on a swingset without thinking of the Justice League Unlimited episode “Epilogue.” (X-Force #77)
The return of the bunny slippers! (X-Force #78)
Aw, Skids. (X-Force #78)
Some very good pacing. (X-Force #78)
Reignfire X-Plains Reignfire, somewhat. (X-Force #79)
Well, shit. (X-Force #79)
Fun Fact: Psychic powers work better when they look cooler. (X-Force #80)
Oh, dear me. (X-Force #80)
Dr. Joshua X-Plains Reignfire. (X-Force #80)
The Elvis windows really make this scene. (X-Force #80)
One more Elvis, for good measure. (X-Force #80)
NEXT EPISODE: Generation X and the Seven Dwarves!

418 – Reignfirefighters

9 comments

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | RSS

In which S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are scarier in suits; Reignfire is the new Erik the Red; “background assets” would be a very funny euphemism; it’s always either time travel or clones; and you should probably not get a corporate logo tattooed on the side of your head.

X-PLAINED:

  • Crimes of Dark Beast
  • X-Force #77-80
  • The Mutant Liberation Front
  • Reignfire (repeatedly)
  • Video Renaissance
  • Almost Reno, NM
  • The inversion of several common tropes
  • Small towns
  • Different kinds of mutants
  • X-Force Fun Facts
  • Skids (Sally Blevins)
  • Several continuity errors
  • Some kidnappings
  • Sexiness without prurience
  • Background assets
  • Dr. Joshua (again)
  • (Henry Wallinger)
  • Psychic shenanigans
  • Las Vegas
  • Word-balloon disambiguation
  • X-Force’s new HQ
  • Historical X-Men we’d like to see

NEXT EPISODE: Generation X and the Seven Dwarves

Check out the visual companion to this episode on our blog!

Find us on iTunes or Stitcher!

Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men is 100% ad-free and listener supported. If you want to help support the podcast–and unlock more cool stuff–you can do that right here!

Buy rad swag at our TeePublic shop!